Percier, Charles (- Charles Bassant) (1764–1838). French
Neo-Classical architect who studied with A. -F.
Peyre and in Rome before establishing an architectural practice with
Fontaine in Paris in 1794. As
Percier & Fontaine the firm became the leading architects of the Napoleonic period, and was largely responsible for the creation of the
Empire style, the epitome of which was at Malmaison, with its celebrated
tent-room and other ravishing interiors (1799–1803). In 1801 the two men were appointed Architects to the Government, designed the interiors of the Tuileries and St-Cloud Palaces, and extended the Louvre, Paris. They also laid out the Rue de Rivoli, Paris, with its arcaded ground-floors, and carried out extensive works at Fontainebleau, Compiègne, and Versailles. Their Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel (1806–8) shows their mastery of Roman
Antique Classicism and refinement of detail. Their
Palais, maisons, et autres édifices modernes dessinés à Rome (Palaces, Houses, and Other Modern Buildings Designed in Rome—1798) and
Receuil de décorations intérieures, comprenant tout ce qui a rapport à l'ameublement (Compendium of Interior Decorations, Comprising all that Relates to Furnishing—1801) were influential throughout Europe and America, and ensured the
Empire style was widely disseminated.
Bibliography
Biver (1963, 1964);
Duportal (1931);
Jervis (1994);
Middleton & and Watkin (1987);
Jane Turner (1996);
D. Watkin (1986)
